Until Sokoine satellite school with two classrooms was built and equipped by ActionAid with communities in Msanga ward of Chamwino district, pupils walked 8 to 20 kilometres to Kawawa primary school while majority others stayed at home.

“I have always wanted to go to school, but there was none nearby”, 10-year old Neema Jared, an aspiring teacher and ardent pupil at Sokoine satellite school, says
Nyimu Paulo is 12 years old and only began attending school when Sokoinei satellite school was opened in January this year- 2009.

A second born in a family of four, Nyimu walks for an hour to reach the satellite school while her elder sister has never gone to any school.

With two volunteer teachers paid by parents’ Tshs 1000 contribution per term, the school already has 110 pupils raging from 5 to 12 years old.

Of the four Satelite schools that ActionAid has supported in Chilonwa and Msanga wards of Chamwino district, the government has already approved a budgetary allocation to construct teachers’ houses and post two professional government-paid teachers in two of them.

“We entered into a memorandum of understanding with the government where they committed to further develop and manage the schools after our initial support of constructing and equipping the schools”, Sosthenes Maganja, ActionAid’s Coordinator in Dodoma says.

“Teachers also cover vast terrains to the schools and without teachers’ housing many opt for transfers to places where they have easy access to housing facilities”, Kawawa Village chair Danford Chilongali says.

While each village in Chamwino has at least one primary school, the distance between them is very long.

Children from two Satellite schools of Sokoine and Mpinduzi will be included in their mother primary school’s feeding programme of the World Food Programme come September 2009 to ensure no children drop out of school because of drought that is already causing food stress in the area.

Apart from long distances to schools, the low land semi-arid terrain of the region makes the roads impassable when it rains making it unsafe for children to cross vast terrains to schools located far away.

Uncoordinated career development for secondary school teachers is also affecting secondary education.

In Chilonwa secondary school with more than 300 students, nine teachers joined university for three year degree programmes leaving the school with only three teachers according to Nestori Kahimba, Chilonwa Ward Executive Officer.

Chilonwa district executive director, David Mayenji says this has been caused by the administration of the programme from the central government and was not informed by accurate data.

“The function has now been dropped down to the district and I have to consent to the decision before it is made”, he says.